The One God Forever

Names and words are very important.  This is observed in fairy tales where incantations are used to wield magical power, and the invocations are used in pagan and religious rites.  In the animated film Prince of Egypt, the magicians invoked the power of Ra to do their bidding, similar to cartoon He-Man shouting, "By the power of Greyskull I have the power!"  From a Christian biblical perspective, no name can compare with the name of Jesus Christ, for God has put His name above all others forever (Phil. 2:9-11).  All other names and powers are subject to Him--even those who say His name.

Some people imagine that knowing or saying a name gives them power over the one they refer to when the opposite is more accurate:  to call on a name of a deity with an invocation is a claim the deity wields power we willingly submit to.  God revealed Himself to Moses from a burning bush, and when Moses asked by what name God should be identified to His people Exodus 3:14-15 reads, "And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.' " ¹⁵ Moreover God said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: 'The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.'"  God identified Himself as "I AM," the self-existent, eternal God who always was, is and will ever be.  But this is not the only name by which the God of Israel--Who is sovereign over all principalities and powers--is identified.

Later God revealed in Exodus 6:2-3, "And God spoke to Moses and said to him: "I am the LORD. ³ I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name LORD I was not known to them."  The patriarchs knew the one true God as "God Almighty," but they did not know Him by what is translated LORD, which is transliterated YHWH or YHVH, the name of God to the ancient Hebrews  This four-letter divine name of God has been termed by scholars the Tetragrammton, and while there is no consensus concerning the etymology of the word, Yahweh is the most accepted transliteration while Jehovah is still used by some.  Moses had a greater revelation of the same God Abraham personally knew, believed and obeyed, the almighty God who knew Abraham as friend (James 2:23).  The God known by Moses and Abraham was the same God, for He never changes.

The Christian view is Jesus fulfilled the word spoken by the LORD through the prophet in Isaiah 9:6:  "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."  When Jesus referred to father Abraham as a contemporary, the people scorned the thought.  John 8:57-58 reads, "Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?" ⁵⁸ Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."  This enraged unbelieving hearers of Jesus, for He identified Himself with being the one and only God worshipped by Abraham--now in human form standing and speaking in their midst.  Jesus Christ is a revelation of God Abraham and Moses did not know but we can know personally by faith in Him.

The almighty God has revealed Himself to the world in the flesh in the person of Jesus Christ.  God identified Himself by "I AM" to His people in the days of Moses, and Jesus revealed Himself as the same God while in Jerusalem.  Jesus showed himself greater than Solomon when, after the temple of His body was destroyed, rose from the dead and ascended to the Father from whence He came.  In rising to the Father He demonstrated He always was, is and will ever be, the Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.  Jesus and the Holy Spirit have given us a greater revelation of God through the Bible than the Hebrew patriarchs had, for Jesus Christ has come--the same God forever to all generations.  We pray in the name of Jesus, not because our words make Him do anything, but because God our LORD and Saviour does everything (Job 42:2).